Monday, July 2, 2012

All of us
have heard the judgmental scuttle from others about how “This Christian wears
this” or “That Christian does that” or “Who do they think they are anyway?” The
sad thing is sometimes those whispering or back-biting can be fairly correct
while at others times they can be dead wrong.

Recently a
blessed Brother in Christ of mine drove down from Canada to have a “Laying on
of Hands” service by our church for his send-off into ministry. He spoke on the
following verse:

You are our epistle written in our hearts,
known and read by all men; clearly you
are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by
the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart. 2
Corinthians 3:2-3 (NKJV)

Well, Today
I was struck by some conversations going back and forth and I realized the
truth of that verse was playing out in these discussions. As a matter of fact
the offended party was in tears. Later I spoke with her and reassured her that
there was something more than what was being said that caused the rash
judgments that induced the hurt. We prayed and a little later they spoke again
and things were brought out into the open.

What we Know

Both parties
were Christian but had distinctively different views of sanctification. One
party, the offenders, believed it was ok for Christians to dress somewhat
risqué and to enjoy secular radio, television, movies and even partake in
alcohol and so they lived in that manner. For some of you, that may be where
you stand. However, the offended party believed that modesty—not extreme in any
sense of the word, was a good way to teach her daughters in how a woman should
present herself before God. She also practiced listening to Christian
music—mostly contemporary—she quit drinking long, long ago to be a better
witness for Christ and did not get any thrill out of most PG-13 and above
secular films and music. Again, she sought to glorify God in her behavior and
teach her children the same.

What we Think

In reading
this you might think, “How could that type of a lifestyle be offensive?” I am
glad you asked. It’s simple. The same way it is offensive to an unbeliever.
God’s desire for all believers is to draw closer to Him, James 4:8. He desires
that we place Him at the number one spot in our heart, Col. 1:18. He is to be
preeminent. He also desires that we guard our hearts, Phil. 4:4-8, Prov. 4:23.
He desires our actions be those that bring glory to Him and not out of selfish
ambition or conceit, Phil. 2:3. He also desires that our lives do not bring an
offense to Him, Acts 24:16. The problem in question arose when these values
came into stark contrast to the values of two others who lived more on the
worldly side. They became offended because their so-called Christian lives did
not match hers.

The Value in Offense

In Galatians
5:11 the Apostle speaks of “The offense of the Cross.” He makes this statement
in connection with how the Jewish people with their Law and Ritual were often
offended by the actions of believers. In this case ultra-legalism opposed
Grace, whereas, in our story devotion to God opposed extreme liberality. But in
either case “The Offense of the Cross” came into play. There is a value in the
“offense of the Cross” in that it is meant to expose inconsistencies in the
life of a believer or an unbeliever—or in this case an extremely liberal
believer, with the life that is Christ pleasing. This offense will bring
tension as it often did in the life of Christ, even bringing Him to the
pinnacle of offense, the cross. But in the cross we see something beautiful
that happened. Christ substituted His righteous life for our sinful one. That
is grace and sacrifice to the fullest extent and it pleased God.

If you are
offended by the life of another believer then maybe you should practice “asking”
before you judge. That is, ask yourself, would my lifestyle (the Epistle that
others Read about who I am) be pleasing and acceptable to God if He were to
walk immediately into a room where I was acting out my belief? Would my life glorify Him or glorify the world
and self? If the latter, consider spending time in God's Word, prayer and just being quiet with Him. Allow Him to do the work in you He desires to bring to fruition. Allow Him to make you into the person He lovingly created you to be. I believe if we would do these things and judge ourselves first in
the light of the Gospel of Christ there would be a lot more change and
transformation in lives via the Spirit of God and a lot less hurt toward
others, 1 Cor. 11:31.

How is your
life today? Are you an offense toward God or an offense toward man? Let God be
the judge, ask Him.

The Sifted Generation is a resource to help believers understand the seriousness of what is confronting us. It also gives loving counsel on how to face the coming onslaught and reveals why our generation is witnessing the alarming rise of darkness. The world is choosing its sides and the stage is being set for soon return of the Lord Jesus Christ!